MIY Corner: Beachy Salt Spray

Hey Lovelies! Another MIY Corner post for you today. 

Since summer seems to be on its way I thought it was about time I started thinking about beaches and fun summery tutorials. This one seemed a simple one to do (I've had a busy week!) 
I love the way my hair looks when I use this. I have naturally quite curly hair but a friend of mine has quite straight hair and she loves the effect this recipe gives her hair! 

Let's get straight into it!

What you need!

You will need:
- 1 cup hot water
- 1-2 teaspoons sea salt (use more if you want a beachier look)
- 1 tablespoon of coconut oil, argan oil (or any hair oil) or 1/2 tbsp of each
- 1/2 teaspoon of pomade or water-based gel (normal gel will work I just find it leaves my hair a little              crunchy) 
- You can also add 1/2 tsp of leave-in conditioner for better feeling hair.
- A spray bottle (I reused a hair spritz bottle I had but dollar stores and pharmacies will stock these new)
- A bowl for mixing (although it's probably easier to mix straight in the bottle!)

Method: 

Add your oils to the water

- Place one cup of hot water in your bowl or bottle
- Add salt, oil/s and gel (and conditioner) and mix well (screw on the cap and shake if mixing in the bottle)

Add salt...

And that's all there is to it! Simple right?

...and gel

I will say though, shake it before each use and also I wouldn't                   recommend using too often as the salt can be very drying for your hair, especially if it is fine. 

   Let me know how you get on with this recipe and how your beachy          styles turn out!
   xx

Mix and pour into your bottle!!! Et Voila!

New Segment: MIY CORNER!!!

Hello Lovelies. Well I thought it might be time to introduce a new segment and this one has honestly been on my mind since I started this blog! I'm so happy I finally get to introduce it to you!
Say hello to M.I.Y corner (pronounced MY CORNER). This little beauty will be full of things that I hope will be simple and fun for you to make and also useful to you! I swear I wasn't just trying to be different with the M.I.Y (Make It Yourself) as opposed to D.I.Y I just felt it fitted a little more appropriately. Everything I have planned for this segment are things to make yourself, most of them cheaper, better alternatives for things you can buy in stores.
And so without further ado I'd like to introduce you to our first guest: M.I.Y Body Scrub! Welcome.

The recipe is incredibly simply and the scrub is just terrific! I couldn't even work out how much it would cost you to make this because it was too cheap! So I'll just get started.

You will need:
Olive Oil (Preferably extra virgin) Alternatively other oils will work as well I just like olive for its moisturising benefits
White Sugar
Table Salt
Something to store scrub in (I used a tub that had a shop bought scrub in that I hated! So I emptied it out and used it for this. Alternatively pharmacies and dollar stores have these sorts of things readily available)
A bowl or jug to mix in (or mix straight into pot)
Optional: Coarse Sea Salt
               Mint Leaves
               Bio Oil (or any other body oil if you                          prefer)
               Essential Oils


Method: 

Sugar and Salts

(Ideally you want a ratio of 1 part oil to 2 parts sugar or salt. You can work it how you like it best but I'll tell you exactly how I did it)

3 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons table salt
1 tablespoon coarse sea salt
Mix these together in your bowl or container.

Add

Add your oil/s

3 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 tablespoon of body oil/essential oils

Give this a good mix and add more oil or more salt/sugar until desired consistency is reached. For me these quantities were perfect but it's up to you.

If you didn't use essential oils (which I didn't) you could add some finely chopped mint leaves to lightly fragrance your scrub

Finely chop your mint

Give it all a good mix

You may not find your finished product to be that attractive (if you do then great!) but trust me; it does the job blimmin' well! Be sure to give your bath or shower tray a good clean after using as the oils can build up and prove a serious hazard!

These make great gifts too, just use a nicer pot and buy some labels from a craft store.

I got 3 and a bit uses out of this recipe so give it a go and let me know what you think!

p.s. I'm no expert but I reckon it works best if you do the scrub on dry skin and then shower/bathe it off, otherwise I find the sugar/salt dissolves. Someone let me know if I'm doing it wrong!?
xx

October Playlist

The usual drill. Here's what's on my playlist this month. I feel like there should be a few halloween songs on here but honestly, it's just a bit too early for that. Even for me!

So here goes:
> Beggin' for Thread -Banks
> Girls Chase Boys - Ingrid Michaelson
> Slow Down -Selena Gomez (I hate that I like this song but I do. Hey I never said I had great music taste!)
> Back ToYou -Twin Forks
> Changing -Sigma ft. Paloma Faith
> Glow - Ella Henderson
> Lovers on the Sun - David Guetta ft. Sam Martin
> Yellow Flicker Beat - Lorde (who else is crazy excited for Mockingjay Part 1?!?!?)
> Hold Me Down - Mansionair
> Let Me In - Kleerup ft. Susanne Sundfør
> The Big Bang - Katy Tiz
> Read All About It Pt. III - Emeli Sande

Not as many songs this month I know; I still have lots from last month (especially Sam Smith) on my playlist. As always follow me on Spotify, my username is MorganC08.
See you all next post
xx

My Happy Things

So Tanya Burr mentioned this is one of her vlogs recently and this is something I've been a firm believer in for a long while now and that is knowing what things make you happy. I often have very down days, when it feels like everything and everyone is against me and I'm alone and I feel very defeated by life. A couple of months ago things got very bad when a close friend of mine betrayed me quite thoroughly and I spent whole days in bed just crying. I'm quite an emotional person which means that when I'm happy I'm ecstatic and when I'm sad I'm almost depressed. It took a few days of wallowing before I decided I had better get on top of my emotions instead of letting them control me. I tried distracting myself; throwing myself into my university work or the gym which worked while I was busy but as soon as I had a moment with my thoughts (or long sleepless nights) I became incredibly miserable again and this usually led to me being kept up by my stupid loud brain. So I looked for another solution.
And I think I've found one that works! I started focusing on what made me happy and took note of those things. Whenever things where bad I threw myself into the things that made me happy to cheer myself up. Distracting yourself from the sadness won't work, trust me. Instead you have to fix the sad.
Everyone will have different things that make them happy but I think that having a large and wide variety is best. I'll share a few of my things below to help give you an idea.

My Happy Things

- My  Happy Place - My Bed under the duvet

- Candles - Usually while I'm in bed

- TV Programs - I have lots, most of which are starting new seasons now. I like to make sure I always have                           at least an episode or two of something to watch so I can come home at the end of a bad                             day and crawl into bed and watch a wonderful fantasy. Currently I'm enjoying Grey's                                     Anatomy, Modern Family, The Originals and about 8 other programs. I'm never lost for                               something to watch though I make sure I'm not constantly watching things and letting them                             get in the way of my studies!

- My Happy Playlist - You can find this on my Spotify (username MorganC08) but it's full of songs I know                                     put me in a happy

- My Friends and Family - They're always there to perk me up
- Baking - This is a good little break from everything for me.

It is, I feel, important to make sure you have a range of things that make you happy no matter the circumstances. For instance make sure you have at least some things that don't rely on other people and things that you have access to everywhere (for example: I can't get into bed at university :( but I usually have access to my happy playlist.
Let me know some of the things on your happy list!
xx
nzunigirl

Weekly Meals 29.9.14

With things back to normal next week we have implemented our usual meal scheme. Once again this is a fairly uninspiring menu; I apologise.

Monday- Homemade Butter Chicken (again made with a packet sauce although we like to add coconut                      milk)
Tuesday- Vegetarian Fettucine with Garlic and Parsley Crumb (We subbed the pumpkin for kumara)
Wednesday- Roast Chicken with Roast Carrots and Potatoes, Steamed Broccoli and Green Beans (You                         can buy a ready-roasted chicken on the day if you prefer)
Thursday- Spaghetti Bolognese
Friday- Thai Beef Noodle Salad  Get creative with this! Add the sauces you have and omit those you don't.               Swap the noodles for some crispy noodles added on top. Honestly just take this recipe and make it               your own!
Saturday- Special Fried Rice with Chicken and Oriental Vegetables
Sunday- Homemade Burgers - go all out and use lamb or pork mince, pricey but worth it! Fill the burgers                   with salad and tomatoes and cheese and fried onion!

In other news, my best friend from Auckland is coming to stay this weekend and I am more than excited! Let me know your plans for the weekend!
xx
nzunigirl

Ultimate Chocolate Chunk Cookies

Hello All! I'm back with another baking post. This recipe is my brother's so I have no idea where it's from; all I know is that it makes the most delicious cookie (Disclaimer: I apologise if this is your recipe and make no attempt to claim it as my own! All rights to its original maker) Personally I think they're best eaten straight from the oven when they're still a little gooey but in my flat that's not an issue!

So I'll get straight into it:

Ingredients:

Ingredients:
* 100g Chocolate (you can use any kind and if it's easier you can buy chips or buttons; the bigger the better)
* 100g Walnuts/Other Nuts (we often omit the nuts and double the chocolate quantity - oops)
* 125g Unsalted Butter (soft)
* 100g Caster Sugar
* 1 large Egg
* 220g Plain Flour
* 3 tbsp. Cocoa Powder
* ½ tsp. Baking Powder
* ½ tsp. Baking Soda

Method:
Heat the oven to 180C on Fan-Bake or 200C without the fan.
1. Break up chocolate into squares and mix with nuts. Set aside until needed
2. Put the soft butter and sugars into the bowl of a food mixer and beat with the whisk attachment until soft and fluffy
3. Scrape down the sides then beat in the eggs
4. Remove the bowl from the mixer and sift the flour, cocoa, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda into the bowl
5. Mix well then stir in the chocolate squares and nuts
6. Using a heaped tablespoon of mixture for each cookie, roll the mixture into balls then arrange them on the baking trays, flatten slightly with your fingers, spacing the cookies well apart to allow for spreading
7. Bake in the oven for about 12-15 minutes or until just firm, and then remove the trays from the oven and leave to cool for 5 minutes before transferring the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.

Best eaten with a glass of milk or a hot cup of tea. I just m

Best Chocolate Mug Cake

Hello All! I hope you had a great weekend! Now I really should be doing a weekly menu since it's been over a week since the last but the truth is we haven't really had one. We've all been busy with uni and work and haven't all been home (especially since Izzy went to her parents house for the weekend) so we've been doing our own thing; which usually consists of nothing healthy. So hopefully next week I'll have one for you. I also thought I would do it at the end of the week in preparation for next week as I know a lot of people do their weekly shop on a Sunday.
Anyway, on with today's post! While in desperate need for something chocolatey - but not wanting to go out for chocolate in a hail storm - I perused the internet for some chocolate mug cake recipes. I have had a few of these and if I'm honest they have all failed to impress me (though they usually manage to fill the chocolate-gap). They often have a rubbery consistency and so I looked for one that might actually resemble a cake of sorts. I honestly looked for a good 15 minutes not wanting to be left disappointed again until I stumbled across this one by food wishes. And boy was it good! It had the texture of a real cake and it tasted delicious! I probably won't be testing out any more mug cake recipes because I truly don't see them being better than Chef John's! (That aside if you have one you think has been sent from heaven then do be sure to send me the recipe!)

So here it is:

Ingredients:
1 large egg
1/4 cup sugar
pinch salt
2 tbsp cocoa powder
1 tbsp vegetable oil (I used canola since that's what's in my cupboard)
2 tbsp melted butter (melt it in the microwave but perhaps use a low setting and watch it as it tends to explode and make a mess!)
1/8 tsp vanilla extract (just a couple drops will do if you can do without the faff of measuring)
3 tbsp milk
1/4 cup self raising flour (or make your own by adding 1/4 tsp baking powder to 1/4 cup plain flour)

Optional: chocolate chips, slivered nuts, shredded coconut, anything else you may want to put in your cake

Instructions:

This is best made in a bowl rather than the mug as it makes two.

-Beat egg then add sugar, salt, cocoa, oil, butter and vanilla and mix well.
-Add your extra ingredients such as the chocolate chips (I omitted these as we didn't have any in the cupboard) along with the milk and mix well again
-Add flour and mix until just combined.

Divide between two mugs (Chef John uses coffee cups) and microwave on high for 45 seconds. I had to do a minute but I think that might be to do with the mug. You may have to play around with timings to get it right for your microwave and your mug. You could eat this all yourself but I would still recommend cooking it in half batches as it'll cook better! Personally I think the half batch satisfies me perfectly and leaves a less guilty feeling in my mouth.

Head over to Chef Johns post here ---> YUM! He's got the recipe, his thoughts on it and also an instructional video for you  visual people! All credit of course goes to him!

Let me know if you try this and I'll see you all next post!

xx
nzunigirl

September Playlist

So we're already into week two of September and I haven't posted my playlist! I think that deserves a slap on the wrist!

To be fair it isn't the greatest playlist in my opinion. I've rediscovered Marina and the Diamonds so I've been listening to every single one of her songs! (But I've only allowed myself to include two in my playlist) I've also been listening to Sam Smith's album (yes the whole album - I love it all! But again there are only two of his songs on my playlist) I've also been hooked on Disney songs so there are a couple of those too I'm afraid. I've then bulked it up with songs that I've been listening to just not as obsessively!

> Ugly Heart - G.R.L (thoughts are with Simone's friends and family) 

> Beautiful Pain - Eminem ft. Sia

> This is How we Do - Katy Perry

> Like I Can - Sam Smith

> Not In That Way - Sam Smith

> Belle - From Beauty and the Beast

> When Will My Life Begin? - From Tangled

> Part of Your World - From The Little Mermaid

> Poor Unfortunate Souls - From The Little Mermaid

> Mowgli's Road - Marina and the Diamonds

> How to be a Heartbreaker - Marina and the Diamonds (you have no idea how hard it was choosing just two. Go and listen to all of her songs!)

> Escape (The Pina Colada Song) - Rupert Holmes

> I Want You Back - The Jackson Five

> Come and Get Your Love - Redbone

Also by way of explanation for the last couple of songs; I went to see Guardians of the Galaxy. If you haven't yet go and see it! It's such a great movie!

Follow me on Spotify for a more up to date version of my playlist! My username is morganc08

xx
nzunigirl

New Segment: Weekly Meals!

So I thought I'd try something new out this week, and hopefully make it a weekly thing. In my flat we do a weekly shop and plan meals for the whole week and then we usually all cook together or take turns cooking but we definitely always buy our meals for the week together. So before we go to the supermarket we have to decide on dinner for the next week which is often the hardest thing in the world to do! I definitely understand my mothers stuggles a little more now. So I thought I'd share with you all what we're having for the week and you can hopefully give me some ideas for next week!
Now normally we go shopping on a Wednesday because that seems to be when our supermarket has the most specials but I'll order it Monday to Sunday just to make things easier for everyone!
I'll also sometimes post the recipes but oftentimes we don't follow one but I'll try and put one on anyway for you!
Monday - Cottage Pie (Layer of cooked mince and steamed mixed veggies topped with mashed potato and a sprinkling of cheese then cooked in the oven, there are loads of recipes for this online)
Tuesday - Chicken Stir Fry (we just stir fry chicken pieces and veges with noodles or rice. You can find all sorts of recipes for this online)
Wednesday - Italian Sausage and Tomato Pasta
Thursday - Chicken Biryani (We used a jar sauce which gave us instructions)
Friday - Slow Cooked Beef Stew (beef chunks, carrots, onions, leeks and beef stock all chucked into a slow cooker while we were at uni and served on mashed potato when we got home. What could be easier!)
Saturday - Beef Burritos (you can just leave them as wraps if you can't be bothered cooking them in the oven)
Sunday - Tuna Pasta Bake (Tuna, cooked pasta, jar of pasta sauce all mixed together and put in the oven until warmed - substitute the tuna for bacon if you don't like fish)

If you need some more inspiration check out Countdown's Feed Four for 15. They have a tonne of cheap and delicious meals and we often cook from these recipes. The sausage and tomato pasta is a particular favourite of ours!

Let me know what you're eating this week!

nzunigirl
xx

August Playlist

So this is a little list of some of the new music I've found (and some old tunes I've rediscovered) that I'll be playing on repeat this month!

Happy Little Pill - Troye Sivan
All About That Bass - Meghan Trainor
Bad Philosophy - Jeremy Redmore
Don't - Ed Sheeran
Walk on By - Noosa
I Need You - M83
Pumpin Blood - NONONO
Mother & Father - Broods
White Teeth Teens - Lorde
Drop The Game - Flume, Chet Baker
Run Boy Run - Woodkid
Promise - Ben Howard
Walking Blind - Aidan Hawkin & Carina Round
Sweater Weather - The Neighbourhood
Sex - The 1975
Why'd You Only Call Me When You're High? - Arctic Monkeys

So there's some of the music I'll be listening to this month. Let me know what's on your playlist this month and if I've given you something new to listen to!

xx

A Few of my Favourite Things

With exams coming up and studying to be done I have typically found my blogging motivation. In fact this is the third post I've written! Not sure whether this will be the third to be uploaded however...

It's going to be a short one on just a few of my favourite things of the moment. 

1) First and for mostly the wonderful book to screen adaptation of John Green's little gem 'The Fault in Our Stars'. I read the book a while back and let me tell you (I don't want to be cliche but...) it changed my life. Whilst I cry in every single sad movie (and some happy ones) I rarely cry reading books. To the best of my knowledge I've only cried in two books in my 19 years of life; The Cat Mummy by Jacqueline Wilson when I was 12 and more recently Allegiant by Veronica Roth. But let me tell you, there's crying and then there's TFIOS crying. I'm talking curled up on the floor sobbing and howling; snot dripping down your face ugly crying. I don't want to give too much away because spoilers are one of my major pet peeves but I'm sure it's no secret that TFIOS is a bit of an emotional rollercoaster. Now I don't want to put you off because it is an incredible story and the cast who portray Green's wonderful characters simply do the best job anyone could have asked for. With some wonderful life lessons, words to live by and deep questions posed this is certainly a movie to see (or if you'd rather; book to read) I'd just ensure you have some tissues handy. 

2) This could have been a part of 1 but my next favourite is the TFIOS soundtrack. It heavily features two of my favourite artists; Ed Sheeran and Birdy as well as M83, Charlie XCX and Kodaline. I've been playing it on repeat for a couple of days now 

3) Some other music I've been enjoying recently is Broods (I'm holding out for their album, the EP isn't cutting it any more). Having attended her recent concert I have been rocking out to my queen Ellie Goulding (much to the chagrin of my flatmates). Two new purchases I'm really getting into are Passengers new album and Lucy Hale's recent debut album. I wouldn't say I'm a country fan but I've been really getting into a few of these songs. 

4) This may be a little random but I've been loving coconut chips as a snack. I often feel like eating, especially late at night and these are a nice, healthy alternative to toast or chocolate that often leave me feeling full despite not eating all that many. And as an added bonus, if you know where to look that can be fairly cheap!

5) Last one I promise! I bought a new phone a couple days ago and love it! It's the Samsung Ace 3. I purchased it for $299 (nzd) and I feel it can be quite reasonably compared to the Samsung S3 mini. It is however a newer phone and it's cheaper (it was a whole $60 cheaper for me). I personally prefer it to the S3 mini and would definitely recommend it to anyone looking for a small, relatively cheap smart phone.

And I think I'll leave it there. Of course there are a whole heap of things I've been enjoying but these I think are my favourites. What are yours?

xx 

  

Molten Chocolate Cakes

So I figured it's about time I posted a recipe and this is something my flatmate and I stumbled across a couple weeks ago when we just really wanted something chocolatey. I got this recipe off the food and wine website (you can find it he


re) It was contributed by Jean-Georges Vongerichten who, it turns out, is actually a pretty famous chef. Anyway we just loved this and since I'm making it tonight I thought I'd post it now so I have photos to accompany it!

You will need:

4 ounces of  unsalted butter (or 113 grams)
6 ounces (170 grams) of bittersweet chocolate (I used the Nestle Dark Cooking Chocolate)
2 eggs
2 additional egg yolks
1/4 cup of sugar
Pinch of salt
2 tablespoon flour (all-purpose)

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 450°F (230°C)
2.  Butter and lightly flour four 6-ounce ramekins. Tap out the excess flour. Set the ramekins on a baking sheet.
3. In a double boiler, over simmering water, melt the butter with the chocolate. In a medium bowl, beat the eggs with the egg yolks, sugar and salt at high speed until thickened and pale.
4. Whisk the chocolate until smooth. Quickly fold it into the egg mixture along with the flour. Spoon the batter into the prepared ramekins and bake for 12 minutes, or until the sides of the cakes are firm but the centers are soft. Let the cakes cool in the ramekins for 1 minute, then cover each with an inverted dessert plate. Carefully turn each one over, let stand for 10 seconds and then unmold. Serve immediately.

MAKE AHEAD The batter can be refrigerated for several hours; bring to room temperature before baking.

We liked to add a little cream to ours

It's not the healthiest dessert in the world but dear god it's good! It's so quick and easy to make; I promise anyone can make it! Don't worry if the chocolate doesn't get into the egg mixture all that quickly or if you mix it more than you fold it or if you overbake it slightly. You'll always end up with some sort of gooey-chocolatey-cakey mess which will always be delicious!

As you can see from the photos our were a slight disaster (but the still tasted delicious!) I think they may have not worked because I didn't butter and flour the ramekins enough and they stuck and to get them out we had to break them. I've posted a photo of what they should look like for reference.

Let me know how it goes for you and if you want any more baking recipes!
xx

"She needs to sort out her priorities!"

We all know that famous line from the first Harry Potter movie (back when they were all baby-faced with no idea about just how famous they were going to become). I'm sure we've probably all said it before too, whether in jest or in all seriousness. But we are all blind to the fact that sometimes our own priorities are not sorted out. Whether that be due to our unwillingness to see, the fact that we know but don't care or simply because having your priorities in order might not give you the most fun. I think it's important to reevaluate our choices every now and then; it can be how we spend our money and time, whether we are being selfish (how much will it cost us to enrich the lives of others - if it is something as simple as letting your roommate have first shower or letting someone else take the last seat on the bus. 

I know my priorities are definitely not in order. I should stop spending money on food and shoes and baking tools and save to go overseas (if I wont to go overseas so badly why is it so hard to not hand over the card - someone send help!). If I know I have an essay due why do I keep clicking the next episode button (same goes for having an early start)? I know I want an awesome summer bod but can't seem to stay away from the chocolate (but am managing to go to the gym now). 

I spend too much time sacrificing my future for instant gratification (because with our smart phones and the internet and new technologies that's what we're all about in this day and age isn't it?). Usually the long term benefit of not doing something far outweigh the short term benefits of doing it. 

So I am resolved to start living for the future. I'm not saying I'm happy living miserably now so I have a chance at being very happy later, I just want to start setting myself up to win. If a beautiful pair of shoes goes on sale I might buy them (granted there are a million outfits I can wear them with and they'll last me years and they're at least 50% off). I'll still buy a cheeky coffee and cake every now and then and I simply can't make any promises that I won't watch all of my TV shows (in fact I can guarantee that I'll still watch them) but I am going to make a hell of an effort to better my chances of a great future and I have a few ideas of how to do that. 

1) Put pictures of Canada and the friends I want to see and things I want to do there in three places:

    a - next to my computer to help kick my internet shopping habits

    b - in my wallet to stop me spending when I'm out and about

    c - literally everywhere so I'm constantly reminded of where it is I want to go

Using last years psychology I think this is a form of positive encouragement.... But please don't quote me on that!

2) Another photo one... Putting pictures of people working in McDonalds or the factory where I worked over the summer or other unhappy jobs everywhere (desk, room, uni bag) to encourage me to work hard on my university work. (Negative encouragement in case you were wondering).

3) Set myself monetary goals and find a suitable reward for reaching them (maybe I can kill two birds with one stone and make my reward watching my shows or a movie)

Unfortunately I know things cost and on top of having to pay rent and power and food and all the other necessities sometimes you've just gotta have a little bit of fun which can cost too. Like I said; I'm not going to be miserable and rich but I do want to be able to have fun in Canada once I get there. All I gotta do now is get the right balance of living in the now, for the future!

xx

Resolution fails!

A little over a month ago I set out my resolutions for 2014 and so far i'm pretty sure I've failed in nearly all of them:

I haven't spent less, not even slightly as can be seen by my ever reducing bank account balance.

My room is not tidy. It rarely has been. I might tidy tonight but I'm not promising anything.

I left my guitar at my family home so learning anything on it is definitely not going to happen.

I have made only one blog post since then. To be fair I have three written out on refill (written between classes) and I just need to get around to typing them. I will definitely do that soon!!!

And i'm not sure if I've achieved the new thing. I mean, I've started flatting for the first time, used an electric cooker (I've been brought up with the luxury of a gas cooker). I've sorted out internet and dealt with various companies and made lots of grown up purchases (cue iron and pots and pans and a printer). We've done proper grocery shops and managed to eat real food most nights. I also made a banana cake for the first time. Whilst these may not seem like particularly big things they certainly were all new. Muddling through first time flatting was and still is a challenge (and challenge I am enjoying nevertheless). I am sure new and exciting challenges will continue to present themselves as the year progresses and I am on the lookout for new opportunities.

I also plan on taking part in 100 happy days.  If you haven't heard of this yet you can check it out here http://100happydays.com/ basically it's all about capturing things that make you happy. I'm hoping it'll lead to me being able to focus on the positive more than the negative. Let me know if you are already or plan on taking part as well.

I think I'll leave things here and go and tidy! Or type up a blog post. Or maybe I'll be super productive and do both! We'll see!

Cheerio friends!
XX

My (thus far unsuccessful) attempts at cohabitation...

So with less than a month until uni starts I have still yet to find a flat...
I have a group to live with, I have pots and pans to put in the kitchen, a bathmat for the bathroom, and a dining table but no flat.
We did have one... almost... but such is the way when you deal with a douchebag agent (he really was). And so after a week of thinking we had a flat the hunt is on once more!
So far I haven't found a particularly wonderful way of doing it. Start early maybe, even if you will have to pay a bit more because you have to pay over the months you're not there. At least you'll definitely have somewhere to live come the start of the semester.
I will say however that this is one time my love of list making has come in handy. Without it there is no way I'd have been able to keep track of which house was which and where and which agent it was with and when the viewing was and all of that nonsense.
Also the discovery that I could make my phone a wifi hotspot and use the data for my mobile plan on my tablet when we went to Wellington for the weekend to look at flats what crazy handy! I was able to put up internet listings and maps and everything.
The other thing that would maybe help would be having no budget... (of course I am living in a fantasy world with this one)!
Having one member of your group designated in charge is always best (that's me in our case - haven't quite decided how I feel about that yet). You'll avoid double bookings or missing out on flats. It also avoids a lot of confusion and agents like talking to the one person in charge as opposed to talking to all members of the group.
We'll get there I know, it would just be nice not to have this stress but c'est la vie!

Still on the to do list:
Find a flat!!!
Set up a flat bank account
Figure out what we need to buy and what people can provide

At least student loan and courses have been sorted!

xx
nzunigirl

Edit: We have a flat!!!!!

Standing Resolute!

So I've made a great start of this.... Only I would choose to start a blog right before the christmas/New Year/ Birthday time of year! But I'm gonna get back into it with this cliche (albeit rather late) post about New Years resolutions!
I've come to the conclusion that they're sort of pointless for me. I never stick to them. In fact I often forget I made them in the first place! They're always the usual; eat less chocolate, exercise more, get better work ethics etc....
This year I decided that if I was going to do resolutions they needed to be new ones. Ones that I knew wouldn't be nigh on impossible to keep.

So they are:
1) Do 1 new thing a month. I stole this from my sister (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSFSC6V1U6l9IUUhKNMBpJg) however I wanted to make sure I was doing lots of new things, not just 12. It's my hope that for the incredibly busy months I'll be able to do something such as bake a souffle (something I'm not sure will be a success) and then during my slow months I can do more new things!

2) Blog!!!!!!! Blog! Blog! Blog! And maybe start a YouTube channel

3) Learn at least one song on the guitar. I've had my guitar sitting in the corner of my room for at least the last three years! This year I'll brush the dust off and try strum something.

4) Keep my room tidy. Now I know this is a cliche one but it's something I really need to do. It sort of comes under my desire to get a whole lot more organised and on top of things this year.

5) Buy less! Probably something that'll be made a whole lot easier by high rent prices in Wellington, having to pay for food, power and internet and having a schedule so busy going to town will be hard.

And that's it. I didn't go too overboard because I'd never had stuck to any of them. I feel that just having these five ought to be somewhat manageable.

Let me know your resolutions below!
My next post is very much student-life related; the struggles of finding a flat!

xx
nzunigirl